Manchester United’s decision to replace Andre Onana with Senne Lammens has been a very shrewd move.
No goalkeeper is perfect, but Andre Onana seemed to have more gaffes than most during his stint at Old Trafford.
Onana’s performance in Manchester United’s Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby Town was the final straw.
United moved to sign Senne Lammens days later, subsequently sending Onana out on loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor. A permanent exit awaits this summer.
Onana spent two full seasons at Manchester United, and truth be told, he struggled from the very start.
The difference between Andre Onana and Senne Lammens’ start at Man Utd is HUGE
Why did we keep Andre Onana so long?!
Onana start vs Lammens
Andre Onana had a winning debut for Manchester United against Wolves, although he was fortunate to escape giving away a penalty.
The bad results soon began to pile up though, with Onana losing nine of his first 21 games in all competitions.
These included Champions League defeats where Onana was one of the biggest reasons behind Manchester United’s group stage elimination.
Senne Lammens‘ first 21 games tell a very different story, with Manchester United losing only three matches.
These defeats came against Everton, Aston Villa, and Brighton in the FA Cup.
Lammens has provided a stability that Manchester United lacked with Onana, despite different circumstances off the pitch.
The young Belgian has already played under three head coaches, Ruben Amorim, Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick.
Onana had the relative stability of playing under only Erik ten Hag, who he had previously worked with at Ajax.
He suffered five defeats in the Premier League and four in the Champions League.
United’s start under Lammens has seen a 66 per cent reduction in losses compared to Onana’s initial spell.
Where would YOU rank Senne Lammens right now in a top 10 of world goalkeepers?
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The Premier League only comparison
You could argue that the comparison is a little unfair against Andre Onana, because his first 21 matches for Manchester United included Champions League matches – despite his experience in the competition.
So if we take Senne Lammens’ first 20 Premier League games and stack them against Andre Onana’s first 20, the results are even more enlightening.
Lammens has only lost two of his first 20 league games, while Andre Onana lost eight.
Despite a changing formation in front of him under different coaches, Lammens has been a beacon of reliability and stability.
That’s exactly what United were looking for when they sought to replace David de Gea in 2023.
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